The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 245 There are many ways

Li Ying didn't expect Aqisi to be so wild. He leaned back and asked, "Have you drunk too much?"

"No." Aqisi smiled and shook her head. After thinking for a while, she added, "But Your Highness can also think that I am drunk."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Do you want me to take advantage of someone's misfortune?"

"Will Your Highness take advantage of someone's misfortune?" Aqisi asked back.

Li Ying said, "It's hard to say."

"I hope Your Highness will do it." Aqisi smiled and added, "That won't work either. I hope Your Highness will only do it to certain people, like me."

Li Ying said, "You seem to speak faster than your brain."

"Yes." Aqisi nodded and held Li Ying's hand. "Your Highness is the person closest to me in the Tang Dynasty. If I have to think twice before speaking to Your Highness, it would be too tiring."

"That's true." Li Ying felt the roughness of the sword callus on Aqisi's right hand, looked at her beautiful face under the moonlight, and said, "She is a valiant and heroic figure with a five-foot spear. She doesn't like makeup, but weapons."

Aqisi could tell that Li Heng was praising her, and her face flushed. She said, "I have been in the army for too long, and I am not thoughtful enough, nor am I considerate. If Your Highness has anything that makes you unhappy, you can tell me directly. Maybe I can help."

Li Heng's worries were mostly gone after Aqisi's interference, and he felt there was no need to talk about it anymore.

But since Aqisi had said so, if he didn't say anything, Aqisi would think he was deliberately hiding something.

The gap between people gradually begins to form from these small things.

So Li Ying asked, "Do you think I'm a good person?"

"Of course." Aqisi did not hesitate at all, "Your Highness is as good as Yao..."

Li Heng quickly blocked Aqisi's mouth, looked around, and said, "We can't compare randomly, otherwise if others hear us, we will be in trouble."

Aqisi said: "I saw that the Tang Dynasty praised people as being very, very good, so I made the comparison like this."

Li Ying said: "Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang are role models for emperors."

Aqisi was slightly stunned, and after thinking for a moment, she understood a little and said, "It seems that I need to learn more about Tang culture."

"Indeed." Li Heng nodded, thought for a while, and said, "I may need your help with something in the next few days."

Aqisi said: "Your Highness, please speak."

Li Heng said, "I will go to Liangzhou County when General Qibi sends me the news. It will be inconvenient for me to bring Li Ling with me. Please help me take care of her."

"Okay." Aqisi agreed readily and said with a smile, "With Li Ling here, I'm not afraid that His Highness won't come back to find me."

"You said that as if I would abandon you at any time."

Li Ying smiled slightly and was about to say something else when Zhang Guangsheng came hurriedly, followed by Shi Shouyi.

When Aqisi saw someone approaching, she automatically stepped aside.

Zhang Guangsheng came to Li Ying, knelt on one knee, and said, "I drank too much and made mistakes. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Li Heng helped Zhang Guangsheng up and said jokingly, "General Zhang didn't make any mistakes. It was me who made your plans go wrong."

Shi Shouyi, who was standing by, couldn't help laughing when he heard this and said, "I was the one who pulled General Zhang out of the beauty's bed. General Zhang is so lucky. Why didn't anyone use such a trick on me?"

Zhang Guangsheng felt a little embarrassed after hearing what the two said, so he changed the subject and said, "Your Highness, they have evil intentions. Should I teach them a lesson?"

"Not for now." Li Heng looked at the brightly lit tavern, "We'll settle this account with them slowly. Let's go back first."

"Yes." Zhang Guangsheng replied.

Li Ying returned to the inn and gently pushed open the door of Li Ling's room.

Through the crack in the door, Li Heng saw Li Ling lying on He Jin's shoulder, and both of them were fast asleep.

Li Heng closed the door gently, walked quietly into the yard, and stared at the night in a daze.

"Grandpa." Li Ling suddenly called out.

Li Heng looked back and saw Li Ling standing at the door, holding the door frame with one hand and rubbing his sleepy eyes with the other.

Li Heng walked forward, picked up Li Ling, and asked, "Did I wake you up?"

"No." Li Ling shook her head. "Ling'er wants to wait for Grandpa to come back before going to sleep."

Li Heng asked, "What are you waiting for me to do?"

Li Ling said, "It will be Ling'er's birthday in two months. Ling'er wants to ask Grandpa for a birthday gift in advance."

"What do you want?" Li Ying asked.

Li Ling said: "Ling'er wants to go to Ganzhou Racecourse to choose horses."

Li Heng was a little surprised and asked, "You are still young, what do you need a horse for?"

Li Ling said, "Grandpa is away from home all year round. If Ling'er can ride a horse, she can follow Grandpa."

Li Ying was stunned, silent for a while, and said, "Okay."

……

The next day, Li Heng was having dinner with Li Ling when Qibi Zhong came in hurriedly.

Li Heng touched Li Ling's head, motioning her to eat well, and then went out with Qibi Zhong.

Qibi Zhong said: "Your Highness, as expected, Governor Wang sent people to take action last night."

"Who to kill?" Li Ying asked.

Qibi Zhong said: "Mi Qian and Kang Yi, these two are wealthy Sogdian merchants, running a wide range of businesses, including silk, tea, female slaves, etc."

Li Heng asked, "Have they gone to Tubo for business recently?"

"Yes." Qibi Zhong nodded, "According to my investigation, they just returned from Tubo half a month ago."

Li Ying was a little surprised when he heard this.

However, what surprised Li Heng was not that these two people had just gone to Tubo for business, but that Qibi Zhong was able to think of and find out the truth about this matter in just one night.

From this we can see that Qibi Zhong was by no means a simple-minded person.

Li Heng was silent for a while, then said, "I remember these two were also at the banquet last night."

"That's right." Qibi Zhong thought, "These two people must be related to the two Tibetan scouts who committed suicide yesterday. Should I arrest them for questioning?"

Li Heng did not answer in a hurry, but asked: "Where is the person sent by Governor Wang to assassinate?"

Qibi Zhong said: "There were nine people in total, six of them died, and the remaining three were captured alive by me without alerting Mi Qian and Kang Yi."

"If they don't report back today, Governor Wang will definitely get suspicious." Li Heng hesitated for a moment, "I'll go deal with Governor Wang first, you send someone to keep an eye on those two, make sure not to alert them."

"I understand." Qibi Zhong bowed and accepted the order. He wanted to ask something but didn't dare to.

Li Heng saw Qibi Zhong's expression and guessed, "General Qibi wants to ask me how I can deal with Governor Wang?"

"I...I dare not." Qibi Zhong lowered his head.

Li Ying said, "I asked him about Ding Xu's hanging."

Qibi Zhong was worried that Li Heng would use the issue of corruption to target Wang Daqing, and Wang Daqing would then give him away.

Although Li Heng had promised not to pursue him, if the matter was made public, if Li Heng did not pursue it, naturally someone else would. Now that Li Heng took the initiative to explain, Qibi Zhong was very grateful and said, "Your Highness is so kind, I will never be able to repay you even if I die."

Li Heng said, "General Qibi, there is no need to be polite. Just do your job well."

"Yes." Qibi Zhong accepted the order and retreated.

Li Heng watched Qibi Zhong leave, deep in thought.

From the moment Li Heng decided not to pursue Qibi Zhong, he had already given up investigating corruption in Hexi.

Because if he found out and didn't deal with it, it would not only be bad for Qibi Zhong, but would also damage his reputation.

For many things, no one will care as long as they are not put on the table.

And even if he doesn't investigate corruption, he has plenty of ways to attack his political opponents.

For example, the hidden households and fictitious population structures that are targeted by policies.

The problem of hidden households is due to the increasingly serious land annexation. Many people are unable to afford the taxes, so they pretend to die, escape, merge into the upper class, etc. to complete the drama of "disappearing from the face of the earth".

The false population refers to people who have clearly died or escaped but are still in the imperial household register.

These two questions seem to be completely opposite, but in fact they are intrinsically related.

Due to the increase in the number of hidden households, the Tang Dynasty had fewer and fewer people to manage, so the court used population increase and decrease as an important indicator for evaluating local officials.

If a local official has fewer and fewer people under his jurisdiction, then his tenure as an official is basically over.

In order to keep their positions and achieve political achievements, local officials would falsely register the number of people.

As for the fictitious population having to pay taxes and perform labor service, there are solutions to that as well.

Because according to the regulations of rent, labor and tax, those who escape should be subject to rent, labor and tax, and should be replaced by close relatives and neighbors.

These close relatives and neighbors had to take over anyway, and they had no idea what was written in the government booklet, so they could only accept the defeat. Until one day they could no longer bear it, they would follow suit and escape.

Of course, this is only at the level of local officials.

At the court level, if the court wants to make money, naturally someone has to take the responsibility, so the more people who report from local areas, the more money the court can collect. Therefore, not only will high-ranking officials in the court not investigate, but they will help to conceal it.

However, Li Longji was not stupid. He knew very well that such a policy of exhausting resources would not last long. Therefore, after having sex with several women every day and entering idle mode, he began to think about how to reorganize the situation.

So after his birthday this year, he issued an edict:
"I will always remember the people, and strive to love and educate them... I heard that those who were displaced have gradually returned, and the number of those who have not returned is not large. I can see the reason for this. The governors and other officials are appointed to be close to the people, and their duty is to keep them safe. If there is any escape... It is a good use of the people. Without reform, how can we achieve prosperity? The previous households with empty registration should be taxed. Those who have relatives and neighbors guarantee to pay the taxes should all be stopped. They should be eliminated..."

The general meaning is that he is a good emperor who cares about the people. It is the officials below who are "ashamed to talk about reducing consumption" and deceive their superiors and subordinates, so he issued a special order to rectify the situation.

The last time Li Longji issued such an edict was during the Kaiyuan period.

Li Heng was not sure whether Li Longji issued this decree as a sudden burst of energy, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that he could use it to attack his political enemies.

Li Ying pondered for a while, explained the matter to Aqisi, and then asked Zhang Guangsheng to visit Wang Daqing with the list of Hexi soldiers who died in the last attack on Shibao City.

At this time, Wang Daqing could not wait for the response from the assassin he sent out, and he paced back and forth in the room anxiously. The woman accompanying him saw Wang Daqing like this, so she came forward and said charmingly, "Alang, what's wrong with you today? No matter how big the matter is, can it be bigger than our happiness?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Daqing slapped the maid in the face and said angrily, "You only know how to flirt all day long. If I am dismissed from office, I will sell you to a tavern to entertain guests. If I die, I will drag you to be buried with me."

The woman was stunned, she covered her face with her hands, tears welling up in her eyes.

At this time, Wang Daqing's housekeeper pushed the door open.

Wang Daqing asked, "Why, they are back?"

The housekeeper said respectfully: "They didn't come, but Prince Shou came."

Wang Daqing slammed the table in anger and said, "Those who should come don't come, and those who shouldn't come come uninvited. Tell the prince that I'm sick and can't see you."

The housekeeper said, "Prince Shou said that if Alang is sick, he will ask Doctor Zhang to help take care of him. If Alang is not at home, he will wait in the mansion and send someone to invite him. If..."

"That's enough!" Wang Daqing interrupted the housekeeper, "If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster. If it's a disaster, it can't be avoided."

After saying that, he pushed the door and left.

Wang Daqing came to the front hall and bowed as soon as he saw Li Ying. He said with a smile, "It is a blessing for me that your highness has come to visit my humble home. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. I beg your forgiveness."

Li Heng glanced at the furnishings in the room and said, "This is not a humble abode, Governor Wang. It is so magnificent that I want to live here after seeing it."

Wang Daqing said, "Your Highness is joking. If Your Highness likes it, you can stay in my humble abode for a few more days."

"I want to, too." Li Heng smiled, "But I'm too busy with official duties. Father has just issued an imperial decree to investigate the issue of false population. By the way, what's the situation in Liangzhou?"

“This…” Wang Daqing’s expression changed slightly, and he said, “I have tried my best to investigate, but this matter has been accumulating for a long time, and it cannot be completed in a short time.”

Li Heng asked, "How long has Governor Wang been the Governor of Liangzhou?"

"Your Highness, it's exactly four years." Wang Daqing replied.

Li Heng asked, "How many households and people are there in Liangzhou?"

Wang Daqing said, "There are 21,359 households and 118,241 people."

Li Ying asked, "Can I take a look at the list?"

Wang Daqing said, "It's in the warehouse. If Your Highness wants to check it out, I'll have someone send it to Your Highness tomorrow."

Li Heng said, "No need. I will go to the storehouse with you. Let's go now."

"This..." Wang Daqing wanted to shirk responsibility.

Li Heng stood up and asked, "Why? Governor Wang wants to obstruct my work?"

"I dare not." Wang Daqing stood up and said, "Your Highness, please allow me to change my clothes."

Li Yan said: "Didn't you hear what the king said just now?"

"I heard...I heard it clearly." Wang Daqing didn't dare to say anything else and immediately took Li Heng to the warehouse.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Li Heng asked Zhang Guangsheng to bring people in to check the list of fallen soldiers.

Zhang Guangsheng led his men to check for most of the day, and then he went out and presented the list, saying, "Your Highness, there are more than 3,000 soldiers who died in the last battle of Shibao City. They are still in the household register. Here is the list."

Li Heng took the list, stared at Wang Daqing, and said, "Provincial Governor Wang, do you want to see it?"

Wang Daqing never expected that Li Heng would actually come with a list of names. He was so frightened that he said, "Your subordinate... Your subordinate..."

Li Heng: "You have been the governor of Liangzhou for four years. Don't you know anything about these things?"

"I know something, but...but these were all reported by the county, and I am just about to check it out." Wang Daqing hurriedly found an excuse.

Li Heng's original intention was to delay time first, but now that Wang Daqing mentioned the county, it just saved him the effort.

Li Heng said, "Okay, then let's go to the county and investigate the cases of escaped and hidden households."

Wang Daqing asked, "Your Highness, are we going now?"

"Let's go now." Li Heng replied affirmatively, and at the same time he picked a county farthest from Liangzhou and said, "Let's go to Tianbao County."

Tianbao County, formerly known as Fanhe County, was renamed Tianbao County in the third year of Tianbao. It is located west of Liangzhou, more than 300 miles away from Liangzhou City.

Wang Daqing had no choice but to accept the order and said, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)